Day 57 - March 13, 2011

At this moment the airplane sits fully assembled and for the most part ready to fly.

We are currently waiting to receive the registration from the FAA in Oklahoma City. After we have that in our possession, the registration numbers can be installed on the airplane (against the Federal Aviation Regulations to do so before) and we can then submit the paperwork for the airworthiness inspection.

We used this weeks work session to finish up a couple of items on our squawk list and finish a few final details such as install seatbelts, and a few more placards. We ended the day by getting the airplane up on the scales to obtain the needed weight data for computing the aircraft center of gravity and filling out the weight and balance documentation. Our finished RV-12 weighed exactly what our fearless leader guessed that it would... 722 lbs.

Stay tuned for news of our first flight... hopefully coming very soon.

2 comments:

  1. that's really exciting! I am contemplating building an RV (probably a 7 or 8) with another gentleman and I am wondering about the skills involved. He's a mechanic and I have done some extensive work in cars including swapping engines, rebuilding engines, replacing valves, etc.

    Would I need to learn to weld and rivet and pretty much just put my skills to use?

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  2. Fear not! No welding skills required for Van's kits. There is plenty of opportunity to hone riveting skills however. It takes some practice to become proficient and confident, but if you can learn to swing a hammer well, then there is hope for your skills as a riveter. Get some scrap metal, a handful of rivets, and take some cracks at it. Show the results to someone with experience, and with a little feedback you should be well on your way toward making real airplane parts.
    -Ed

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